


Lose at Sunrise, Gain at Sunset

by commander_hot_pants



Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Established rocky relationship, Future Fic, Healing, M/M, Secret Relationship, Soft Boys, Speedbuggy, Teens in love, harmless cuddling, past trauma, soft romance, told in bits
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-28
Updated: 2018-05-28
Packaged: 2019-05-14 18:16:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,369
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14774702
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/commander_hot_pants/pseuds/commander_hot_pants
Summary: Bart thinks of all that he has lost and all that he has gained.





	Lose at Sunrise, Gain at Sunset

**Author's Note:**

> Big thanks to [Forlorn_Melody](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Forlorn_Melody/pseuds/Forlorn_Melody) for giving this a once over.

Bart cuts the tomatoes and lettuce in under ten seconds. He sets the table before Bianca can finish asking. He plays with Milagro while the meat is finishing cooking. He kisses Jaime’s cheek when he’s sure the family isn't looking. 

Bart busses, cleans, and puts the dishes away as soon as dinner is done. He tries to pay attention to the TV but ends up drumming a rhythm on Jaime’s leg the entire show. He chuckles at Alberto’s stories and relishes the embarrassing anecdotes from Jaime’s middle school days. The Reyes family always invites him to dinners, Jaime's parents are kind and generous and refuse to exclude anyone, especially Bart. Maybe they sense something in him, maybe they see through his carefully built exterior to the true Bart inside. Maybe Alberto, who always seems more aware then he lets on, can tell that Bart is missing something. 

Bart tries not to think about his dad. Not as he is now, Don Allen the five year old who loves dinosaurs and piggy back rides-- his true father. The last time he’d seen his father was seven years ago, they’d been running with the resistance his whole life. Blue Beetle had finally caught them. Dad gasped his final words around a staple through his throat. 

He hangs out at the garage on weekends when neither him nor Jaime have missions. He tries to understand what Jaime and his dad are talking about but between the mechanic jargon and the Spanish slang there's no hope so Bart washes cars and sweeps floors to keep himself busy.

As they close up shop Alberto fishes two beers from the fridge and a soda for Bart, he hesitates for a second, then switches the soda for a third beer. Jaime might have just turned twenty-one but Bart still has three more years to go. Bianca comes into the kitchen just as all three of the seals crack, she gives him a stern look but doesn’t say anything. Bart doesn’t want to mention he would have preferred the soda anyway.

He didn’t remember much of his mother. She had soft hands,  _ maybe _ . She wore a green necklace,  _ maybe.  _ She had a warm laugh,  _ maybe _ . She died protecting him,  _ maybe. _ He didn’t remember and dad never spoke of it. Maybe he was waiting until Bart was a little older, until he could handle it. Bart didn't ask and by the time his curiosity and vocabulary allowed him to wonder there was no one left who knew. 

There are many reasons him and Jaime haven't told anyone they’re more than friends. Firstly, Bart was only seventeen when Jaime stole that first kiss and the distance between seventeen and twenty was a lot farther than it felt. Secondly, they didn’t want to be another M'gann and Conner, or Cassie and Tim, or Artemis and—they didn't want to be another token couple on the team. Thirdly, though Jaimes parents would love their son no matter what, his Abuela might be upset and Milagro would definitely tease. Besides, they would probably make him start keeping his bedroom door open when Bart visited, Jaime might be a legal adult but he was still living under their roof.

And if they’re being honest with themselves, they’re both a little afraid. When they'd gotten together it had been – _ for lack of a better term- _ impulsive. Bart had fallen in love with Jaime years ago, packaged those feelings up and put them in a safe place, he  had almost forgotten about them until that night. Until they were laying under the stars alone, the silence of an empty desert only interrupted by laughter. Jaime turned towards him, the moonlight illuminating his profile and Barts heart had swollen so large his desire must have been contagious because Jaime was the one who moved first. He tasted like his cinnamon gum and it was so quick because they'd never even  _ talked  _ about that stuff but now they'd kissed so chances were neither of them were completely straight. 

The first time Bart kissed a boy he was just eleven years old. The Reach had put fertility suppressors in the food, selectively bred humans as they saw fit. There were very few children, just him and Aidan. Aidan was almost two years older than him, they were inseparable.  Maybe they got the idea from Aidan’s parents, maybe it was from a scrap of pre-Reach media they managed to see, maybe it was just natural curiosity. It wasn't so much of a kiss as much as a confused attack on eachother but it counted enough for the apocalypse. 

Jaime feels bad because the magic girl kissed him on the cheek  _ again _ after another chance run in. But if Jaimes guilt keeps translating into free food then he wasn't going to bring it up. Besides, it did bother Bart a little... But it's nothing a forty pack of chicken nuggets and an extra large chocolate shake cant fix. Jaime’s finger tip is rubbing circles around Bart’s ankle as he reads, re-reads, re-re-reads his textbook. Biology was kicking his ass this semester, stressing him out more than usual because pretty soon he’d have to start looking into training programs and mentorships and moving if he really wanted to be a dentist.

A call comes in, they suit up. Jaime seems relieved to get a break. They lose sight of each other in the chaos, there's smoke, theres noise, Barts dizzy. He trips, falls, barely catches himself before he narrowly avoids smashing his face into a rock. Then there's a face- blue and black, yellow eyes. Relief knocks the breath out of Bart and he wraps his arms around Jaime’s neck, the two of them fly up and out of the haze. He presses a kiss to the blue jawline of Jaimes armor only to be surprised with flesh instead. Maybe Khaji Da didn't like kisses, but maybe it just didn't want to take a kiss away from Jaime.

Bart once saw Blue Beetle stab a man with rebar as thick around as his arm. Shoved it right through like it was nothing. The man didn't die right away, he wandered around for several confused minutes, gesturing towards the protruding rod like someone should be helping him. No one did, no one could. Blue Beetle killed for fun and with no warning. The only way to avoid an attack was to avoid attention all together.

Jaime sighs as Bart pushes the back of his shirt up around his shoulders, exposing the Scarab. He’s promised a back massage, which he will provide, but this had really been his goal. Bart learns down. The Scarab is cold against his lips and it leaves a metallic taste in his mouth from even brief contact. Jaime chuckles, lets Bart know Khaji Da thinks they’re under attack. There's a light buzzing that Bart feels more then he hears and Jaime starts a one sided argument about the alleged attack. As Barts hands knead into the tight muscles of his shoulders and neck Jaime goes quiet. 

He ends up asleep, arms pillowing his head on top of his open textbooks, Barts hands still gently palpating his skin. He glances at the empty bed beside Jaime, wonders if the older boy would mind him taking a nap. Carefully, he sneaks off trying not to cause the bed to shake or creek.

_ “Bart?” _ Not careful enough.

_ “Sorry.”   _ Jaime's hand reaches out and grabs his.

_ “No, just, thought you might have left,"   _ Jaimes voice is heavy with sleep, accent softening the edge on some of consonants,  _ "I’m glad you’re here.”  _ His heart jumps to his throat, the light from the setting sun has lit Jaimes half open eyes ablaze, his skin glows gold and his smile is crooked. Bart lays down, sliding beneath Jaime's body as it opens for him.

His body is warm and  _ -oh god-  _ soft and they’ve never cuddled skin to skin but Bart lifts his shirt just a little so their abdomens slide bare against each other and they both hiss. Their legs intertwine, the AC cycles on. 

_ “I’m not going anywhere.”  _ He whispers back after a moment of shifting their weight around.  _ “I’m never going anywhere.” _

**Author's Note:**

> First time writing in YJ so I'm hella nervous. Please let me know what you think, I'd love to write more of these two.


End file.
